Arlo and Janis by Jimmy Johnson for November 30, 2022

A keen observation Janis. But then it would be just another day where some special interest would try to convince us to spend our money!

That’s the worst thing you have to complain about?

Hey — There’s an extra day in October!

Hey Arlo, you could be helping. I’ll admit my Janis does all the cards and baking but I do a lot of the decorations and all the wrapping.

Except it would screw up the pattern. If you look at a calendar; 4/4, 6/6, 8/8, 10/10, 5/9, 9/5 7/11, 11/7 & > 12/12 < all fall on the same day of the week each year. Adding an extra day would bump 12/12 to the next day of the week.

I only do the things that I know won’t be redone.

Do I want to know what that green stuff she is rolling is?

That extra day would help!

Don’t run with scissors in your mouth Janis, that could be deadly!

HELLidays are upon us.

Or move Thanksgiving to the middle of the month.

The irony is as you get older, your family acquires more and more holiday traditions, but as you get older, you become less and less capable of executing them. A relative asked me in an e-mail what were our Christmas traditions. I filled up an entire page.

At some point, you have to do a re-assessment and determine really what is essential and what isn’t. Also to-do lists help a great deal and prevent wheel-spinning.

I also notice that we actually start working towards Christmas in October. When our first child was born, we started working towards Christmas a week or so before.

The 2022 Fleet Farm calendar does have a November 31.

Well, if months were like us Americans, January, March, May, July, August, October, and December would tell November that February stole a day from it.

agreed… take it from January

I’d say February…

Wife and I have already finished all of our Christmas shopping for our 4 kids, 7 grands, and 1 great grand. We even exchanged presents, first time in 10 years we gave presents to each other. We did it all the easy way, ordered everything from Amazon.

December needs more days. We realized years ago there weren’t enough days to do it all.

One more day wold just give you one more day to procrastinate!

Where is Arlo in all this?

Have only had Christmas since started dating husband in my 3rd year of college as I am Jewish. We follow some traditions from his family & some we have come up with some of our own. We have not been fortunate enough to have children (which resolved the which way would we raise the children question) so it is basically us, his sister & her family for Christmas & she has dinner at her house.

For us our holiday tends to be the (over) decorating. I tried to figure out why I do so. Then in a conversation we had with some friends it was discussed that people tend to repeat the customs from when they growing up. I then realized I had done the same. Our over decorating comes from every Christmas movie I have ever seen – my Christmas growing up.

He is in charge of outside lights – which are adequate – not more than same. Inside my territory. Have big artificial tree in living room. If any branches show – it means I was in rush had to leave some ornaments off tree. At one point bought a new tree. I collect teddy bears & ornaments of bears had started to take over tree. Had husband make a stand for top section of the old tree & put it upstairs moved some (not all) of bear ornaments to same – has since grown to be a Christmas village of small bears (& more recently changed monthly to current season).

Our dining room is decorated 18thc like, Decorations are same. Had too many member ornaments from Col Williamsburg – did the same – small tree with only CW ornaments in dining room & some left on main tree.

Then one year we had bedbugs could not deal with big tree & bought small one. Small one now gets setup in our studio with ornaments we have made.

Kitchen & front hall also get decorated.

This year will not be putting battery candles in the front windows any longer – why? His darn big TV – in front of the living room window – no access to same. Figured out everything related to Christmas but putting candles in window!